Ports Propose Clean Trucks ProgramInitiative to Cut Air Pollution from Harbor Trucks by 80%The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have launched a Clean Trucks Program that will reduce air pollution from harbor trucks by more than 80 percent within five years.

The Clean Trucks Program is outlined in the Clean Air Action Plan, and will be administered jointly by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Diesel-powered harbor trucks are a major source of air pollution. The Clean Trucks Program calls for drayage truck owners to scrap and replace about 16,000 polluting trucks working at the ports, with the assistance of a port-sponsored grant or loan subsidy.

Beginning October 1, 2008, pre-1989 trucks will be banned. The program progressively bans all trucks that don't meet 2007 emission standards by 2012. To finance the $2 billion truck replacement program, the ports will levy on loaded containers ($35 per loaded twenty-foot equivalent unit) also beginning October 1, 2008. (Beginning January 2009, the ports will also collect a separate, $15 per TEU cargo fee to finance $1.4 billion in roadway, rail and bridge projects.)

For more information about the Port of Long Beach's Clean Trucks Program, click here. For more information about the Port of Los Angeles' Clean Truck Program, click here.